We have seen the rise and fall of Ben Ean Moselle, Pimms No. 1, Cold Duck and Babycham. Soon we will hopefully witness the demise of wine coolers. But there are some constants in the drinker’s life, Scotch whisky for one. Scotch is one of the oldest spirits, first stilled in the Scottish Highlands in the early fifteenth century, not long after the Arabs first used distillation for alcohol in the Middle Ages. Today the term ‘Scotch’ covers almost as diverse a range of concoctions as wine. Although it originated as pure malt whisky, Scotch is now made in various ways, from the cheaper generic Scotches blended by the large proprietary brands like the Grants, the Black Douglas, Bells and Cutty Sark, to the elite pure single malts found under the vivid and evocative names of Glenlivet, Auchentoshan, Laphroaig and Talisker. In between are the premium blends such as Chivas Regal, Dimple Haig and Johnnie Walker Black Label, often bottled with a high content of malt whisky. No two Scotches are the same and there’s more than a fair degree of rivalry between its distillers. Melbourne publicist Ian Loftus tells the story he heard of the distiller’s funeral many years ago. Motor cars weren’t common then, so when Lord Glenfiddich saw Mr Dewar walking towards the church he offered him a lift in his big black Roller. Seeing they made up some time, Mr Dewar asked Lord Glenfiddich if he wanted to stop off on the way for a dram. “Certainly!” came the reply, so they stopped at the local pub. Lord Glenfiddich insisted on buying first and politely purchased two Dewars from the barman. Mr Dewar then wanted to return the favour with a couple of glasses of Glenfiddich, but Lord Glenfiddich replied “No thank you, Mr Dewar. I don’t wish to go to a funeral smelling of whisky”. Equally popular with royalty, peerage and working classes, Scotch is a beverage celebrated for centuries. Drunk with water and without, it has frequently been mentioned by Dickins and other writers and has been imitated, but not bettered, the world over. Although there are over 2,000 different blends of Scotch on sale around the world today, they all originate from just 130 different whiskies, the product of the 130 licensed distilleries in Scotland. To its many enthusiasts, the mystique and aura which envelop Scotland’s premium single malts is at least the equal to the romance of the famous French wines regions of Burgundy or Bordeaux. It is also true that as much of the quality of the spirit is owed to tradition and lore as it is to science. So particular is the relationship between the shape of the still and its spirit that a distiller who decided to upgrade his plant was forced to reproduce even the exact patches of his old worn-out stills to recapture their special qualities of essence and flavour . The story of Scotch is richly endowed with legend and lore. Some is less able to stand scrutiny than other, but I particularly like this allegedly true story told by Cedric Dickens, great-grandson of the famous writer. It concerns the founder of a little company producing Antiquary, a grand dark old liqueur whisky. His wife decided he was drinking too much and suggested that a change in lifestyle was in order. To avert a more moderate and less interesting fate, our venerable founder decided to change the recipe of Antiquary to a very light colour, without telling wife. While drinking at least as much as before, they lived happily together for many more years. She thought he was watering it down! Scotch is certainly the most popular spirit in Australia today, although it could be fair to suggest that its owes its pre-eminent position to Coca-Cola. Roughly speaking, our most-ordered spirits are (1) Scotch (with Coke), (2) Bundaberg, (3) Jim Beam, (4) Jack Daniels, (5) Bacardi, (6) Southern Comfort (not strictly a spirit), (7) gin (mostly as gin squash), (8) vodka, (9) tequila and, (10) brandy. The vast bulk of Scotch sales see it blended with this ubiquitous mixer, whose main advantage over others is that its flavour is so strong and its taste so sweet that it is perfectly capable of making even the strongest, harshest and most aggressive spirit acceptable to even the most timid of palates. Spend an evening in a nightclub and watch what the crowd drinks. Then try matching them glass for glass with straight unmixed spirit, be it Bacardi, Southern Comfort, Scotch or Bundaberg. Goodnight Vienna. Fortunately the demand for premium Scotch remains high. In a close parallel to the wine and beer markets, Scotch seems to be polarising between the premium malt brands and the cheaper blends. People are becoming more inquisitive, selective and choosy with their top Scotch and are also developing stronger brand loyalties with cheaper blends. Michael Royston-Yorke of Stringfellows Nightclub, Melbourne, observes a strong move towards the individual brands, which people are asking for instead of just a “Scotch on the rocks, or with Coke”. “Some are even checking the contents of the overheads (overhead dispensers) to see if what’s inside matches the label”, he says. “Several remember funny experiences elsewhere”. At the very extreme of the cheaper market, nightclubs can now sell Scotch from huge bulk containers, pumped through to the glass in a system similar to the postmix softdrink dispensers. Research indicates that reputable brands like Vat 69 and White Horse are presented in this way. It makes perfect sense, increasing bar efficiency out of sight. Royston-Yorke finds that Scotch buyers are becoming more discerning and curious, beginning to ask about the relative merits of blended and single malt whisky. “Established career people over 30 have a better knowledge of Scotch and also have the opportunity to afford it. For $6 a shot for Chivas, young people can’t afford to find they don’t like the taste of Scotch”, he says. Of course the more serious Scotch drinkers take their choice rather more seriously. “I like whisky with body so I drink Johnnie Walker Black Label and Chivas, or if I drink a single malt it’s usually Glenmorangie”, says the well-known globetrotting eccentric, English cricket broadcaster Henry Blofeld. “Sometimes Famous Grouse seems to work – a bit like a cheaper Australian chardonnay. “I take Scotch with soda the last thing before bed. But in India and Pakistan you need it all the time, frequently without water. I clean my teeth with Scotch there. When I’m entertaining I use Black Label (Johnnie Walker). Anything else I serve from a decanter”, he warns potential dinner guests. “I always have Scotch in a flask while duck flighting and grouse smalling in the early hours of morning or evening”, he continues. “In fact I always have a flask of it in the briefcase… you never know when you’ll need it.” Henry Blofeld’s choices of Scotch almost exactly parallels what Michael Royston-Yorke believes sells best in clubs and pubs today, where the leaders are Johnnie Walker Red and Black, Chivas Regal and an encouraging number of malt whiskies, especially Glenmorangie. There’s also a bit of resurging interest in Irish Whiskey, especially in Tullamore Dew and Jamiesons, he notices. “Youngsters drink spirits with a mixer to soften the blow, but older people prefer good whiskies with ice or water, or else neat once they’ve acquired the taste”, Royston-Yorke comments. “A few have Chivas and soda, but most of the time it’s served with ice. Whisky cocktails are pretty quiet, but oddly enough, the Whisky Sour is back in. The Rob Roys, Manhattans and Bobby Burns aren’t doing much. In fact, the Dry Martini is the only other traditional cocktail I find any call for. Most of the cheaper blends end up served as mixed drinks.” I have heard more than once lately that Scotch isn’t a popular cocktail ingredient today because most people don’t like the taste of it. When you consider that most cocktails ordered are quite sweet to very sweet, the taste of raw Scotch could hardly be more different. I’ll bet, too, that most of those who drown it in Coke would no more rather drink Scotch neat than sniff petrol. Royston-Yorke questions whether it is really appropriate at all as a broad-spectrum cocktail ingredient. “Scotch has such a definitive flavour which doesn’t blend with others too well. The flavour of Scotch cocktails must be at the front of the mouth. In too many cocktails it can give a muddy, stale taste.” However the future for Scotch looks strong. It’s gaining popularity at the top end and is never likely to lose its share of the mixed drink market. The only area where Scotch is losing is with cocktails, where Royston-Yorke observes that only a few spirit companies are keen enough to really promote it. And now, to do your bit to put Scotch Whisky cocktails right back onto the map, get out the shaker and start mixing some of these:- Rusty Nail. 30ml Scotch 30ml Drambuie Pour both into shaker with ice. Shake and strain into an old-fashioned glass (large tumbler) filled with ice. Old Fashioned. A good old-fashioned sure way to get there. 60ml Scotch sugar cube 2 dashes Angostura Bitters Slice of lemon Cherry Place sugar cube into old-fashioned glass (large tumbler) and add bitters. Muddle until the sugar melts. Then add ice and Scotch, twisting the lemon over the ingredients and garnishing with a cherry. Whisky Royal. 60ml Scotch 3 dashes Orange Bitters 2 dashes White Creme de Menthe Pour ice into old-fashioned glass (large tumbler) and coat with Orange Bitters. Pour in Scotch and when ready to drink, pour Creme de Menthe over the ingredients. Bobby Burns. Och aye, Jimmy boy. 60ml Scotch 30ml Sweet Vermouth 30ml Dry Vermouth dash D.O.M. Benedictine Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into a standard cocktail glass (martini glass). Garnish with a cocktail cherry. Taste of Honey. A modern Royston-Yorke original. 30ml Scotch 30ml Kahlua 30ml Drambuie 30ml cream Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into a standard cocktail glass (martini glass). Garnish with a fanned strawberry. The Richmond. More original sin from Royston-Yorke. 30ml Scotch 15ml Cointreau 15ml Campari dash orange juice dash Angostura Bitters 15ml Dubonnet Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into a standard cocktail glass (martini glass). Garnish with a twist of orange and a cocktail cherry. Goodnight, Vienna.
